Pilot of Israel-Bound Flight Is Stabbed by Co-Pilot in Suspected Hijacking Bid — Jet Falls 16,000 Feet

The crew and heroic passengers intervened in a bloody struggle to subdue a co-pilot believed to have attempted to hijack and crash a commercial FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv from Dubai in an apparent terror attack reminiscent of September 11, 2001.A “major disaster was narrowly avoided” an unnamed Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post.A clash took place in the cockpit on Wednesday morning in the skies over Saudi Arabia near the Jordanian border. The flight, a Boeing 737 MAX carrying approximately 180 passengers, plummeted from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about one minute during the incident.An Israeli official told the Associated Press that a crewman carried out the attack with a knife.One of the pilots sent a distress signal during the attack and Israel scrambled warplanes. Video from the flight posted on social media showed confusion among the passengers and people crying. One passenger rushed to the front of the plane. Another video showed what appeared to be passengers treating a wounded pilot and a second crewmember tied up beside him, appearing to be unconscious.Two other pilots who were reportedly onboard the plane to fly to their next assignments took over the controls and made an emergency landing at an airport at Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, passengers told the New York Times. The pilot and co-pilot were hospitalized with injuries.“Anyone who tried to bring down a plane and murder 180 Israelis should pay as though he had murdered,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in an X post. “He and every state or terrorist organization that sent him.”Unconfirmed reports say the attacker is an Omani national. The United Arab Emirates has an aviation agreement with Israel that requires any pilot that lands in Israel to have a passport from a country with diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv, which Oman does not have.Transportation Minister Miri Regev demanded the suspension of FlyDubai flights to Israel, Israeli media reported. Mossad, Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Transportation Ministry are now involved in the investigation, Kan news reports.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement on X that said he was monitoring developments in the investigation. “The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,” it said.Mr. Netanyahu has warned in recent days of unspecified security threats ahead of the third anniversary of the October 7 attack and Israel’s legislative election later in the month.Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, in an X post, said nothing resembling the attack was among the threats raised in a security update he received Tuesday from Mr. Netanyahu.A passenger who was on the flight told Israel’s Channel 12 that the Saudi staff at the airport were treating them well. “They’re performing in the best way,” Almog Italie said. “They’re taking care of us.”

Pilot of Israel-Bound Flight Is Stabbed by Co-Pilot in Suspected Hijacking Bid — Jet Falls 16,000 Feet

Pilot of Israel-Bound Flight Is Stabbed by Co-Pilot in Suspected Hijacking Bid — Jet Falls 16,000 Feet

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